Düsseldorf, Berlin Martina Merz made a remarkable promise to her officers. She was the woman responsible for the industrial conglomerate, which was badly affected at that time. Thyssen Krupo Makes the impossible possible, explained the CEO multiple times.

He has now taken the first important step. After a partial sale, the Ruhr Group is now freed from its oppressive burden of debt. However, many top managers complain that there is no strategy. “Thyssen-Krupp doesn’t know where he’s going,” says one person who did not wish to be named.

Merz has had an unusual career since his appointment as chief controller of the Ruhr Group three-and-a-half years ago: less than a year in office, he replaced then-CEO Guido Kerkhoff on behalf of major shareholders Krupp Foundation and Savian. Dropped out – and without further ado, jumped in with no successor available.